Eastham: Hero’s reward

Eastham: Hero’s reward

Biological technician Dabney Eastham, son of Dabney and Margaret Eastham of Flint Hill, was honored for having performed the Heimlich maneuver on a woman choking on a bite of her lunch.

Eastham, who works for the Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs (Wyo.) District, was presented the bureau’s Exemplary Act Award at a recent awards ceremony.

Apparently, a fellow employee began choking on a piece of her lunch and had become incapacitated. Eastham performed the maneuver on the woman and and stopped her from choking.

Eastham learned how to perform the Heimlich when he worked as a Student Conservation Association volunteer in Salem, Ore.

Unnecessary payment

Direct mail and advertising campaigns in the Culpeper area are charging people for Social Security services that are normally offered free of charge at the government office on Main Street.

According to Social Security Branch Manager* Bruce Hundley, the most common ploy is for a company to get copies of recent marriage licenses then offers the bride the chance to change her name on social security records for a $10 fee.

But, Hundley said, that service is provided free of charge from any social security office. In addition, said the branch manager, no less work is needed to change the name through the solicitor. The bride is required to show the original or a certified copy of the marriage certificate showing her maiden name and her new married name.

The other device used by private solicitors is to get a copy of a person’s record of earning covered by social security or providing an estimate of future social security benefits.

These, too, can be obtained free of charge from the branch office, Hundley said.

“These firms are selling services which are provided at no charge by every social security office,” Hundley said.